District osi colttmbia



DBC. 17, i929. H DlENER HAT BLICKING AND STEAMING ATTACHMENT Filed March 30 1926 Patented Dec. 17, 1929 y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAT-BLOCKING AND STEAMING ATTACHMENT Application iled March 30, 1926. Serial No. 98,470.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in hat blocking and steaming devices and more particularly to a device ot' this character which may be utilized as an attachment to a garment pressing machine where a steam generator is present and the primary object ot' the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive attachment of this character which may bc readily and quickly 1o attached to a garment pressing machine so that tailors and others using machines oi this character may be in position to accept the business of cleaning and blocking hats in addition to the cleaning and pressing of other wearing apparel.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a device of this character which may be readily applied to the table or support ot' a garment pressing machine and connected with a steam pipe leading from the steam generator, which is usually present in the well known types of garment pressing machines now on the market.

A still further object resides in providing a hat blocking and steaming attachment of the character mentioned which is so constructed that it may accommodate hats of various sizes and shapes and which is also constructed so that the sweat band may be kept free from direct Contact with the steam when the other portions of the hat are being steamed.

A still further object resides in providing a device of this character .which is comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, durable in construction and which will be very efficient and useful in operation.

With these and numerous other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of a device constructed in accordance with my invention, disclosing a hat thereon 5 ready for steaming and blocking,

Figure 2 is a 'side elevation of the device, with the hat removed therefrom,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the device, with a hat applied thereto,

Figure 4 is a plane view of the disc removed from the steam pipe and Figure 5 is a vertical section through the disc as seen on the line 5--54 of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a detail section of one form oi o0 pad for the head member.

It is a well known fact that the majority of tailors and others in the business of cleaning and pressing wearingapparel use the well known garment pressing machines which invariably have steam generating means in connection therewith. While various attachments have been known for such machines for the assistance of the operator in the pressing of garments, no attachment has heretofore been providedv whereby the operator may steam or block a hat on such machines. 'l` he business' of cleaning and blocking hats therefore, is lost to the tailor or other operator of a pressing machine, unless he installs an expensive and complicated machine for cleaning and blocking hats which is a separate apparatus entirely from the garment pressing machine. My attachment is. particularly adapted for use in connection 8( with these well known garment pressing machines where steam generating means is usually provided and the invention contemplates the use of the same steam generated for use in the garment machine, so that the invention 8l may be readily and qulckly applied to such machines at a comparatlvely small cost. This willenable the tailor or other-owner of the garment pressing machine to accept business involving the cleaning and blocking of 9| hats, such hats to be cleaned elsewhere or otherwise as is usually done with the cleaning of the wearing apparel, the steaming and blocking of the hats to be done by the owner of the garment pressing machine on the at- 9` tachment which I have invented and disclosed herewith.

In'describng my invention, I shall refer to the drawing in` which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts 1 through the several views and in which 1 designates a support or table, such as usually provided in garment pressing machines. In such machines, a boiler (not shown) for generating steam is usually provided immediate- 1y adjacent one end of the table and my invention contemplates the use of a pipe (not shown) including a valve, which may be ex tended from the generatorthrough the table. Mounted on thetable is a sleeve or the like 2 to which the lead-in steam pipe may be connected and removably connected with this sleeve and extending upwardly therefrom is-a steam pipe 3 which is utilized as a support for the hat steaming and bl'ocking devlce.

The steaming and blocking device proper consists of a head member 4 which is domeshapedand provided with a plurality of small steam exit openings 5. These openings are arranged in series throughout the surface of the head member, as clearly shown in the drawing.

The head member 4 which is shaped to receive the crown of a hat is vpreferably formed of a desired metallic materialand in casting or otherwise forming the same the lower edge thereof is extended downwardly and looped as shown at 6 to provide an annular chamber 7, for a purpose t0 be hereinaftepand more particularly described. The outer wall of the chamber which is formed by looping the metal extended from the head member 4 is bent outwardly and downwardly to provide an annular flange 8 adaptedl to provide a brim supporting portion for the device. Continuing from this flange 8 the metal is dished downwardlyr to provide a bowl-shaped base portion 9 which terminates in a lower central collar 10. This collar is internally threaded and engaged with the upper threaded end of the steam pipe 3. The annular brim supporting iange 8 is also provided with a plurality of small openings 11 arranged in series so that the steam within the member may f pro]ect therethrough and come in contact with the brim of the hat supported thereon.

From the description hereabove and the illustrations in the drawing it will be seen that the member adapted to sup ort the hat is hollow and in view of the slape of the base portion thereof any condensation of the steam may be returned to the pipe 3. I have shown and described the base portion 9 -as being integral with the crown and brim supporting portions of the device, but if more convenient, thisbase portion may be made separate from the other ortions and secured thereto in any preferre manner, or the device may be otherwise constructed in two sections as may be found mechanically advantageous, the principle of the. invention remaining the same.

When a hat is being steamed and blocked, it is quite necessary that the sweat band thereof, if the hatvhas such a band, be positioned so that steam may notl come in direct contact therewith. To this end I have provided the annular chamber 7 for the reception therein of the sweat band, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawing. Inasmuch as steam is in contact with the walls of the chamber 7 I have provided means to prevent undue heat coming in contact with this sweat band. 'To this end the walls of this chamber 7 are offset' voutwardly in opposite directions to provide annular grooves therein for substantially their entire height and secured in these grooves are strips of asbestos designated by the numeral 12 in t-he drawing. t

In the drawing I have designated the hat applied to the dome-shaped head 4 by the numeral 13, the brim thereof being designated by the numeral 14, and the sweat band designated by the numeral 15. It will be readily V seenV that the hat is adapted to be received on the dome-shaped head 4, the brim supported on the flange 8 and the sweat band received in the chamber 7. It will be further noted that the walls of the chamber 7 are not provided with openings, so that steam may not readily enter this chamber and the openings in thehead member 4 terminate above the portion from whence the walls of the chamber are formed.. In order to hold the hat firmly in position on this device I have pro"- vided the spring hinged clips 16 secured to the base-portion 9, said clips being adapted to engage the brim of the hat and retain the same on the device, as appears obvious. It is quite possible to provide devices of this character-with head members 4 of different sizes and this may be done, but in view of the expense attached to the use of a plurality of such members it is more desirable to provide a single device of this character with means in connection therewith for the accommodation of hats of various sizes. It is therefore preferable that the head member 4 be made of a small size, relatively, to which may be applied various pad membersj 17 7which will enable the operator to produce a head size accommodating hats of var-i'ous sizes. These pads may be of various thick nesses according to the desired head size of v the hat being steamed and the device when sold to the operator will be provided with a plurality of such pads to enable the attachment to be used as desired and necessary yin the usual course of business.

These pads 17 are preferably formed of a layer of wire and oneor more layers of cloth or felt. In Figure 6 I have shown a detail of one form of pad inwhich a single layer of wire 18 is interposed between two i layers of felt 19. Thelayer of wire will become extremely hot when steam is passed therethrough and will, obviously, have a tendency to dry the pads on opposite faces thereof, which pads may become moist as a 4result vIl() the same.

of steam passin therethrough. The wire tends also to hol the pad in its proper shape and ready for application to the head member 4 and whether one or more layers of felt are used it will accomplish the same results of sha in the pad and tending to dry the moist elt ayer.

' As the steam entering the pipe 3 is directed from the generator in close proximity to this attachment, there is a possibility that water may be drawn therein and to lprevent such water from entering the attachment, I have provided the metal disc 20. This metal disc has its periphery threaded as shown at 21 and is engaged with the internal upper threaded end of the pipe 3. This dise is provided with a plurality of openings 22 which extend completely therethrougi and, as shown clearly in Figure 5 of the drawing, are small in diameter at their upper ends and larger in diameter at their lower ends. This shape of the openings will obviously prevent water from entering the device and at the same time permit the steam to readily carry through.

In use,-the tailor or operator of a garment machine having this attachment thereon receives a hat to be cleaned and may send it to the usual cleaning establishment where it maybe thoroughly cleaned in every respect at a very small charge. In so cleaning the hat the sweat band thereof is also thoroughly cleaned so that it does not become necessary to remove such sweat band or replace Vhen the hat is returned from cleaning, it is crushed and wrinkled and it becomes the duty of the owner of this machine to block and steam the same. The hat is placed on the attachment in the manner shown in Figure 1 of the drawing so that the crown thereof is supported on the head portion 4, the brim resting on the flange 8 and the sweat band directed into the chamber 7. If the hat is of the same size as the head portion 4 no pad will be necessary but if not of the same size the roper pad 17 to t the particular hat may e used. After the hat is properly secured in position on this attachment, steam is admitted through the pipe 3 to the device where it is directed through the openings 5 and l1 to the crown and brim of the hat, thus removing wrinkles therefrom. As the steam is directed to the hat, the operator may brush or rub the hat properly to smooth the nap and thus block and condition the hat properly. It will be seen that the sweat band, being disposed in the chamber where steam does not enter, will not be disturbed in the steaming and blocking operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple, inexpensive and effieient means for carrying out the objects of the invention. While I particularly described the elements best Aadapted toperform the functions set forth, it is obvious that vari ous changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be emloyed or resorted to, within the scope of the appended claims, without de arting from the spirit or sacrificing any of t e principles of the invention.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a hat steaming device, a crown receiving member, a brim receiving member and a sweat band embracing member formed integral therewith and protecting said band against the action of the steam. y 2. In a hat steaming device, a perforated member shaped to conform to and receive a hat thereon and means carried thereon for embracing and protecting the sweat band of the hat against the action of the steam..

3. In a hat steaming device, a perforated member shapedto conform to and receive a hat thereon, and an imperforate sweat band embracing member carried thereon protecting said band against the action of the steam.

4. In a hat steamingdevice, a crown receiving member, a brim receiving member, means supporting said members forming a chamber therebelow and means disposed within said chamber for receiving and'protecting the sweat band of a hat against the action of the steam.

5. In la hat steaming device, a member shaped to conform to and receive a hat thereon, a sweat band receiving member and heat resisting means applied to the last mentioned member.

6. In ahat steaming device, a perforated crown receivin member, a perforated brim receiving mem er, means supporting same forming a chamber therebelow, an imperforate receiving member disposed between the aforesaid members within said chamber and heat resisting means applied to the last mentioned member.

7. A hat steaming and `blocking attachment comprising a perforated head member shaped to conform and receive thereon a hat. a hollow base portion connected with and suporting said head member, means within said )ase portion for supplying steam to said base portion, a member disposed witliin said base portion and connected with said head member adapted to receive the sweat band of a hat and protect the same against' the action of steam.

8. A hat steaming and blocking attachment comprising a perforated hollow head member formed with an annular perforated ange, said head member being also provided with an annular depending chamber intermediate same and said flange, a hollow base portion connected with said fiange and forming a chamber below said head member and means for supplying steam to said last mentioned chamber.

9. A hat steaming and blocking attachment comprising a hollow dome-shaped head member adapted to receive the crown of a hat thereon, the lower portion of said head member being extended and looped to provide an external annular chamber thereon adapted to receive the sweat band of said hat, an annular brim-sup orting flange formed on the outer wallv o said chamber, said flange and head member heilig perforated, a hollow base portion connected with said flange and forming a chamber below said head member and means for supplying steam to the last mentioned chamber.

10. A hat steaming and blocking attachment comprising a hollow domeshaped head member adapted to receive the crown of a hat thereon, the lower portion of said head member being extended and looped to provide an annular external chamber for the reception of a sweat band therein, heat-resisting means applied to the inner faces of the walls of said chamber, an annular brim-supporting flange formed on the outer wall of said chamber, said flange and head member being perforated, a hollow base ortion connected with said flange and providing a chamber below said head member, and means for supplying steam to said last mentioned chamber.

1l. In'a hat steaming and blocking device l of the class described, a crown receiving member, a brim receiving member and a sweat band embracing means connecting together said crown and brim receiving members.

12. In abat steaming and blocking device of the class described, a crown receiving member, a brim receiving member, and a sweat band receiving member connecting together said brim and crown receiving members, said sweat band receiving member having an upwardly facing entrance opening.

13. In a hat steaming and blocking device of the class described, a crown receiving member, a brim receiving member, and a sweat band receiving member integrally connecting the lower portion of said crown receiving member with the inner end portion of said brim receiving member, the entrance to said sweat band receiving member facing upwardly.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

HYMAN DIEN ER. 

